


h*lding h*nds

by tenkaede



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Holding Hands, Pining, very explicit i know.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:33:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23507665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenkaede/pseuds/tenkaede
Summary: If there's anything that Chabashira's learned, it's that Harukawa doesn't take to physical affection.(Mostly.)
Relationships: Chabashira Tenko/Harukawa Maki
Comments: 2
Kudos: 63





	h*lding h*nds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [farores](https://archiveofourown.org/users/farores/gifts).



If there’s anything that Chabashira’s learned, it’s that Harukawa is not as fond of physical affection as she is. 

Chabashira is a naturally touchy person. It’s normal to express affection towards other girls, y’know? That’s what she’s learned, through manga and television and movies and anime. Most of the other girls are receptive to her touch - Akamatsu and Yonaga indulge her, Yumeno and Toujou don’t seem to care and Shirogane can be a little weird about it sometimes but otherwise doesn’t seem to mind.

(Iruma is another subject entirely. Chabashira doesn’t think anyone can touch that one, unless they want a string of perverse swears and a good smack.) 

But actions speak louder than words, and these are only things Chabashira’s learned through experience. She’s seen Yumeno’s indifference, felt Akamatsu’s reciprocating hugs, heard Iruma running her mouth and promptly decided that she would not make the same mistake twice. 

With Harukawa, a surprise hug had ended with one of them smacked onto the floor, and it wasn’t Harukawa herself, so that was that. 

And it’s not that Chabashira thinks of herself as an observant person, but it’s hard not to notice the little things when it comes to Harukawa. She’s not a thinker, really, but she starts to notice the little ways that child caregiver always seems on edge, or prepared, or… something. Eyes a little too wide, shoulders a little too stiff - Chabashira can recognize someone on their guard! 

Maybe babysitters have to be on their toes all the time. She wouldn’t know. But she likes to believe in everyone, and Harukawa gives her the impression that it would probably be a bad idea to ask about it, so she doesn’t. 

Not when Harukawa flinches over innocuous things over and over again, not when Chabashira has to remind herself not to touch, not when their feelings become muddled and strange and new. Harukawa doesn’t like touch, and that’s it. She has to respect that, no matter what. Upsetting her again would be the worst feeling in the world, Chabashira thinks, and… her pain tolerance is very infamously horrible. There’s no benefit to overstepping those boundaries. 

If the first thing that Chabashira’s learned is that Harukawa is averse to touch, then the second thing is that the two of them express affection much differently than expected.

Harukawa doesn’t touch, but she remembers things. Sometimes, Chabashira will insist on walking with Harukawa when she goes out somewhere (to protect her, she insists, but it’s partially just a poor excuse to spend time together) and there’ll be a pause, then a nod, then a slow, “you like that stuff, right?” when they’re walking past a clothing store or somewhere with sweets or something or anything inbetween. 

And Chabashira will do something like flush, from her cheeks to her ears, say something like, “Tenko does!” Sometimes, she’ll be allowed to linger and stare. Sometimes they’ll have to keep moving. Something about such a small gesture lingers in the back of Chabashira’s head for the rest of the day, every single time. 

Harukawa’s good at remembering other things, too. She points out new clothes when Chabashira’s wearing them, makes offhanded comments about what Chabashira likes - once she’d slowly, carefully tucked a stray strand behind Chabashira’s ear, just to mutter something about how it was out of place. 

The gesture had turned Chabashira’s face for the rest of the day, and that was that. She knows that Harukawa’s averse to touch, and that Harukawa is good at remembering things. She’s happy to leave it at that. She likes it when she can read people’s intentions, and the information helps her understand Harukawa, so it works out for her. 

Until it doesn’t. 

They’re sitting next to eachother in the common room when it happens, and Chabashira is talking about nothing in particular, spurred on by small nods or absent-minded hums. One-sided conversation is nothing new, but Harukawa’s never seemed particularly annoyed by it, so Chabashira allows herself to ramble and ramble and ramble. About magical girls, about performers, about something cool she saw on the internet the other day, about something cool she thought that Harukawa would like… 

Harukawa reaches over, tentatively, gaze directed at anywhere  _ but  _ her, and tangles their fingers together. It’s sudden, it’s strange, and Chabashira freezes, words suddenly caught in the back of her throat. 

“What?” Comes the huff from Harukawa, as if this is totally normal and not a sudden change in their routine that Chabashira is wildly unprepared for. (Her hand is rough, she notes, but not at all uncomfortable to hold. A little warm.) 

“You’re-” What is she supposed to do, with this? Reciprocate the gesture? Pull away completely? Chabashira’s a little too stiff to do both of those things, as surprised as she is. “Tenko doesn’t know how to react to this!” She was never one to stay quiet, so the admission comes easy. 

“How am  _ I  _ supposed to react to you saying that? Don’t do anything.” If Harukawa’s uncomfortable, then she’s not showing it. It’s hard to determine whether or not that’s a good thing. “Just keep talking.” 

“You want Tenko to hold your hand?” Chabashira prompts anyway. Only now is she vaguely aware of the flush to Harukawa’s cheeks. 

Eye contact isn’t the sort of thing that either of them have been good at. It’s genuinely startling when a rose gaze rises to meet her own, even if just for a moment. “Are you uncomfortable.” A question, even if Harukawa’s tone is endlessly blank. 

“No, Tenko’s okay!” 

“Okay.” 

Chabashira doesn’t keep talking.

Once the surprise dies, something else rises, and she can’t determine what it is - a heat to her cheeks, a pounding to her chest. Maybe it’s amusement. Maybe it’s delight. This goes against almost everything she knows about Harukawa, but doesn’t that make this just a pleasant surprise? 

She’s held hands with girls before. Something about this feels different. 

Maybe it’s just because she’s never held  _ Harukawa’s _ hand before. 

“You’re staring,” comes Harukawa’s comment, throwing Chabashira from her thoughts. “Don’t do that. You have a gross look on your face.”    
  


“Sorry!” A pause. “What kind of gross look is Tenko making?” Her smile is crude and she looks like a demon when she’s nervous, so it could be either of those things, even if nobody else typically seems to think so.

“You look like some kind of puppy.” It doesn’t carry the weight of an insult, even when Harukawa reiterates, “it’s gross.” 

Chabashira thinks that the grip on her hand tightens. 

Maybe it’s the ridiculousness of being called a puppy, or maybe it’s because of how strange Harukawa is acting, or maybe it’s the joy in having her hand held, but a giggle bubbles in Chabashira’s chest, small but persistent, until it starts to shake her shoulders. Maybe this is great, isn’t it? Holding a girl’s hand, and it’s someone she knows to be so averse to touch-

“What are you doing?” Even she can pick up the surprise in Harukawa’s voice. There’s something else, too, but Chabashira can’t identify it. “Stop that.” 

But she doesn’t let go of her hand. Chabashira takes it as permission to talk. “You’re holding Tenko’s hand!” It comes out a little louder than she’d intended. A little too delighted. 

“You’re making a big deal out of it for no reason,” Harukawa says quickly, “you-” Chabashira bursts into another round of giggling. The reaction is that of puffed out cheeks and a red face. “ _ Stop . _ ” 

“Haha, sorry! It’s just nice!” It’s hard to tell what Harukawa means - stop staring? Stop giggling? Stop talking? The grip on her hand remains tight, so it can’t be that Harukawa wants her to let go. She doesn’t  _ want  _ to let go, regardless. 

“Just nice,” Harukawa echoes. She looks like she isn’t sure what to make of this. Frankly, neither is Chabashira, but their fingers stay intertwined, faces still red. “Keep talking. You were talking about… how I remind you of the Akemi girl.” 

“That’s a very obvious subject change! But,” Chabashira adds, once Harukawa starts to open her mouth again. “Tenko’s willing to indulge you!” 

“ _ I’m _ the one indulging  _ you . _ I’m not the one that knows too much about this.” Hands still clasped, face still red, Harukawa looks away. 

Still, Chabashira thinks she can spot the tiniest smile on her face. She’s not entirely sure what just happened, not really, but if there’s anything she’s learned, it’s that Harukawa is infamously averse to touch. 

And yet they’re holding hands. 

  


**Author's Note:**

> you think i'm literate? anyway happy (belated) bday farore i wuv you


End file.
